Cetyl alcohol in CP soap

[nframe]

I read that cetyl alcohol will increase and stabilise the lather in CP soaps so of course I had to try it. I used it at 2% of the oil weight and melted it beforehand. When I poured it into the batter (which was nearly at trace) it turned into blobs. Stirring was not enough to dissolve them so I used the stick blender. The problem is that I then had a thick trace. When I poured the soap into moulds, I could see that there were still blobs remaining. I put the moulds in the oven at 80C and left the oven on for 30 minutes. I hope that the heat from the oven will dissolve the cetyl alcohol. Do any of you have any experience of this?

 

[KiwiMoose]

No but I use cetyl alcohol in my syndet shampoo bars and it has a very high melt point. It stands to reason that if it cools below that point it will re-harden. You would most likely need to keep the oils/batter at a high temperature to avoid the cetyl alcohol re-solidifying. And of course by soaping at that high of a temperature would mean that your batter will likely trace quickly.

 

[nframe]

No but I use cetyl alcohol in my syndet shampoo bars and it has a very high melt point. It stands to reason that if it cools below that point it will re-harden. You would most likely need to keep the oils/batter at a high temperature to avoid the cetyl alcohol re-solidifying. And of course by soaping at that high of a temperature would mean that your batter will likely trace quickly.

Exactly! So I guess that's the end of the experiment...

 

[DeeAnna]

I agree you'd have to handle it like soaping with beeswax. But why not do a hot process method? I'd think that would work well to keep the cetyl alcohol melted, if you don't mind the rustic look of HP.

 

[nframe]

I agree you'd have to handle it like soaping with beeswax. But why not do a hot process method? I'd think that would work well to keep the cetyl alcohol melted, if you don't mind the rustic look of HP.

Good idea! I'll use it next time I do HP.